MOOREFIELD – The first weekend of December is a festive one in Mapleton.
It kicks off with the Drayton Santa Claus Parade Dec. 6 at 7pm. Then Santa will head over to Moorefield for the Santa Claus Parade on Dec. 7 at 2pm, before making his way to the Optimist Ice Rink for kids to have their photos taken with the jolly old elf in red. That evening, the Optimists will be hosting a Christmas dinner and dance, starting with cocktails at 6pm.
Anyone interested in participating in the parade is asked to meet at the Murray Group at 83 McGivern St. between 1 and 1:30pm.
The parade will take the same route as usual, heading into town from McGivern Street, turning at the Spectrum Feed Mill, turn at Adam Brown Street, and then go back up McGivern, said Moorefield Optimist Jeremy Culling.
He said the parade will probably take between 30 and 35 minutes and spectators should get a good view from anywhere along Main or Adam Brown Streets.
Spectators are asked to bring non-perishable food donations that will be collected at K.A. Hammonds (43 McGivern St.).
Parking is available on Palmerston’s side streets and at the Optimist Hall and Community Centre parking lot. Attendees are asked not to park on Main Street as it obstructs visibility for the parade. Roads will be blocked off to stop traffic from interrupting the parade, Culling noted.
The number of floats in the parade varies from year to year, Culling said, noting some of the floats in the Drayton Parade keep everything together and head to Moorefield for the following day. The floats represent most small local businesses, he said, and the Optimists typically have a float of their own.
Culling said there’s “nothing out of the ordinary,” his year.
Last year, the Optimists switched things up by organizing an evening parade after dark, but they were unable to do so this year because of the scheduling conflict with the Christmas dinner, Culling said.
The after-dark parade was “a little more fun,” he noted, “just because everyone could dress up their floats with lights in the dark.”
He said the secret to getting Santa to show up to the Drayton parade is just that – “a secret,” and he’s not giving it away.
Hot chocolate will be served during the visits with Santa at the Optimist Hall after the parade.